Thank Modi for quota, says BJP

Vijayawada: The AP Assembly sat late into the night on Thursday to pass a Bill to carve out five per cent quota for Kapus from the 10 per cent reservation for the upper caste poor that was given by the Centre recently. Mr Atchennaidu said that the reservations would help the Kapus get entry into institutions of higher education as well as government jobs.

He said that YSR Congress president Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy had turned down the Kapu community demand for reservations as impossible but Mr Naidu made it possible by giving five per cent reservation in the 10 per cent EWS quota. He said the other economically weaker sections of society would get the remaining five per cent reservations. The reservations for Kapus would not affect reservation for other BC castes.

Mr Atchennaidu said Kapus should be thankful to Mr Naidu and keep his photograph in their houses making sure that the community was getting the quota.

BJP legislator P. Vishnukumar Raju said the Assembly should thank Prime Minister Narendra Modi for giving the TD government a chance to provide the reservation by passing the 10 per cent EWS quota.

Legislators Jyothula Nehru, P. Ramesh Babu, Kuna Ravi Kumar, Palle Raghunath Reddy and others welcomed the reservation to Kapus and hailed Mr Naidu. Assembly Speaker K. Siva Prasada Rao announced the passage of the Kapu reservation Bill.